Seeing Things Differently
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Bethany sees the girls she bullied and their aliens friends differently when she is rescued from her abusive family. Rated T for mentions of abuse and for kissing. No flames please.


**Okay, this story is probably going to shock a lot of you, but this is mostly a back story of Bethany, one of the girls that always bullied Rachel and Sasha. There is some abuse where she is beaten up by her family, but it's not too graphic. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I own Rachel, Amy, Sasha, Stephanie, and Bethany. All other characters belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

**Seeing Things Differently**

Bethany sat in her room, hugging her knees to her chest as she waited for her parents to come into the room. She had gotten into trouble with the principal again for bullying. Now, the problem was, her parents always told her that she had to make others feel meaningless, which she tried to do. Her older sister was good at it and was the one her parents loved the most.

Bethany wasn't shown the same favoritism or love and was pressured to do things her parents wanted her to do. Suddenly, the door to her pretty much bare room opened.

"Why do we put up with you?" asked her father, looking angry.

She flinched and looked at him fearfully. Her mother also looked angry. "Why can't you do things right like your older sister? She at least does what we say without questions and she doesn't get caught," said her mother.

Bethany hung her head. They always compared her to Stephanie and she didn't like it.

"Why are we bothering?" the man asked his wife. "She's not even ours anyway."

Bethany's head snapped up. What did her father mean?

"You're right," said his wife. "She's just a leech that was left to our care after her foolish father begged us to care for her since he couldn't. Why did we take her in?"

"The money," said the man. "But, she's eighteen now. She should be out in the streets where she belongs. She's not our concern now."

"No!" Bethany said. "Please don't do that."

"Be quiet, girl!"

She flinched at that and looked at him as he raved on. "You've caused only trouble and haven't been able to do anything right. We've told you to make the Jocklin girls feel worthless and you couldn't even do that without crying about some monster that came up! Your sister had more sense to tell the truth!"

She knew what that meant. Stephanie stretched the truth while she had told them what happened. Of course, they believed their favorite daughter over her, now that she realized she wasn't even their daughter.

Suddenly, she heard a crack and looked up to receive a punch to the face and she quickly ducked the other blow, running to the side and taking advantage of them tripping over themselves in their haste and she ran.

"Run, little twerp," said Stephanie, also chasing her and punching her. As all three ganged up and beat her, Bethany somehow managed to use her survival instinct and kick them where it would hurt and then used their pain to her advantage to get up and run. She made it to the door, and somehow undid the lock in time and then ran out the door as the light was beginning to fade. Hearing the shouts of her once-family, she kept running.

"Keep running, you little twerp!"

"You show your face again, and it'll be your end!"

Bethany kept running, tears in her eyes. She was in shock and her body was hurting from all the abuse. She stumbled around and kept going until she finally made it into town and then collapsed as her energy faded on her. She then blacked out.

* * *

Snare-Oh was out on patrol that evening with Amy accompanying him as they moved about to make sure the Knights weren't causing any trouble or that no robbers were trying to cause any problems. "Well, everything looks fine," said Snare-Oh. "We need to head back."

Amy spotted something in the ally by the small store Rachel's youngest uncle owned. "Wait, someone's there, in the ally," she said and Snare-Oh looked at where his charge was pointing and looked surprised.

"It's a young girl," he said as he then picked her up and they saw her injuries from the light of the streetlamp. "I recognize her. It's Bethany."

"The same girl that bullies Rachel and Sasha?" asked Amy. "What's she doing out here? She looks like she got into a cage fight gone wrong."

Snare-Oh didn't have an answer. "We'll find out later. We need to get her back to the Mansion."

Amy agreed and they took off.

Rachel hadn't been expecting them to return with her enemy looking like she had been used as a punching bag. "What happened?" she asked.

"Amy found her in the ally beside your uncle's store," said Snare-Oh. "It looks like someone beat her."

"And harshly too," said the older girl as she examined some of the bruises. "Let's get her to the med ward."

A few hours later, the x-rays showed no internal bleeding, but did show a few bruised ribs and a few cracked ones, her neck and back out of alignment, and a small concussion on the head, but nothing extremely serious, so they were able to get her stable pretty quickly.

"She's lucky," said Rachel. "It could have been much worse."

"I wonder what happened," said Sasha. "An abusive boyfriend?"

Amy shook her head. "I don't think so. She broke up with him about a year ago," she said.

Snare-Oh looked at Rachel. "I hate to say this, but perhaps abusive parents?"

The girls looked worried at that and suddenly Wildmutt came in, whimpering and growling. Rachel's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" she asked her friend who let out an affirmative bark. "Wildmutt just got back from patrol and he says he saw Bethany's parents and her sister out searching for her, but they had plans to kill her."

Everyone looked shocked and what the orange dog-like alien had said confirmed Snare-Oh's suspicions. "We need to protect her," he said.

"He's right," said Rachel. "Even though she has been our enemy."

Sasha and Amy couldn't argue with their friends. Amy hung her head as she knew what it was like to be abused. Snare-Oh pulled her in a hug of comfort that she accepted.

The girls finally decided to simply let Bethany rest and they would do more in the morning and so all went to bed, worried a little for the injured girl in the med ward.

* * *

Bethany felt herself slowly wake up as she tried to take in her surroundings. She was in some room that she didn't recognize and she tried to sit up.

Only to gasp sharply in pain and fall back down, panting as she tried to get her breath back. She whimpered as it hurt.

Suddenly, someone came in, but it wasn't a nurse. It was a tall person who looked like a frog and had sunglasses. It came up to her and gently forced her to stay still by holding down her shoulders with his three-fingered hands.

"Don't move," he said, his voice deep. "You'll make it hurt more."

She began to shiver in fear, but the pain in her ribs was making her cry as it hurt. The person started to gently rub her shoulders and massaged them gingerly, trying to help her. "Easy, just calm down. Slow breaths," he encouraged her and so she did and the pain finally subsided to where she could stand it. She looked up at him and saw his face looked worried. Then the door opened and Rachel came in.

"Bullfrag? Is everything okay?" she asked the frog.

"She woke up and went to move, but that aggravated her injured ribs," the frog Bethany now knew was called Bullfrag. She looked over at Rachel, who came over to check on something.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Bethany looked at her with confusion. "What's going on?" she asked through some painful breaths. "How did I get here? Why are you helping me?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Bethany," Rachel said soothingly. "You're in the med ward of the Grant Mansion. Snare-Oh and Amy found you last night outside my uncle's store. You were injured from your family abusing you and we managed to stabilize you, but you'll be recovering for quite a while."

The injured girl looked up at the girl she had bullied before and couldn't understand it. The older girl saw the look of confusion on her face.

"Just because you were my enemy, that doesn't mean that I would wish anything bad to happen to you," she said. She then checked some things and nodded. "The medication is working, so you shouldn't be in too much pain after a few days."

Bethany looked at her. "I'm going to be here for a long time?" she asked, now afraid as she remembered the first time she was here and two monsters had scared her and the others off from chasing after Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "Yes. We're not going to let your parents know where you are, but I did contact Sergeant Williams and he and his men have already arrested them on charges of abuse and smuggling, something we weren't aware of until Wildmutt told us."

"Wildmutt?"

The door of the room opened again and the mentioned alien came in and went up to the girl, nuzzling her hand and growling in a friendly way. "He was worried when he heard your parents talking about hurting you," she told the injured girl.

"How did you know that my parents did this?" the former bully asked.

Rachel paused a moment. "I have the ability to talk to and understand animals," she said. "Wildmutt was patrolling the other night when he saw your parents and he reported it to us immediately."

Bethany looked astonished. "You really can understand them?" she asked. "Is that how you were able to find out what happened to Farmer Smith's horse?"

Rachel nodded and smiled when she saw Wildmutt was rubbing his head against Bethany's hand. "He wants you to pat him," she said, looking a little worried when the injured girl pulled her hand away in fear.

"What if he bites me?" she asked.

The other girl shook her head. "He won't bite you," she said, smiling. "Go ahead."

Bethany slowly reached her hand to Wildmutt, who licked her hand in a friendly way, prompting her to pat him. She then saw he had no eyes. "How can he see without eyes?" she asked.

"Vulpimancers have special sensors on their necks, similar to gills," said Rook, who just came in. "They can sense a heat signature and that helps them to 'see' who's beside them."

The girl saw the sensors he was talking about and so was careful to not place her hand on them, seeing as they were his eyes in a way.

"Rook," said Rachel, hugging him. "Were you able to get the medicine?"

"Yes," he said, giving her a bottle filled with a blue liquid. "This is placed in food for her to eat and each time she does eat. Her stomach will absorb it and it will spread slowly to the rest of her and heal her injuries."

"A super medicine that takes care of the whole situation."

Bethany watched as Rachel hugged the blue-armored alien with a smile. "You're awesome, Hon," she said in a love-sick voice that Bethany recognized from watching romance movies.

"And you're amazing, Baby," said Rook as he kissed her. The other girl was surprised, but then smiled as she continued to pat Wildmutt, who was content to just let her do that.

For the rest of the day, she rested but did manage to eat some soup Rachel had made, explaining that they didn't want to dump too much solid food into the injured girl's stomach too soon or the medicine wouldn't work. Surprisingly, all Bethany could taste of the medicine was just a bit of a twang, like soda. Rook had explained that if the medicine wasn't mixed with food, it would taste very nasty. She was grateful that they cared.

* * *

A few days passed and Rachel introduced Bethany to one of her scientist friends, Frankenstrike. The younger girl was afraid as she remembered him from before, but all the massive alien did was have her lay down on one of the tables and he took x-rays of her bones.

Rachel looked at them. "Well, your concussion is gone with no internal bleeding, thank goodness," she said. "Your back and neck need to be adjusted back into place, but we didn't want to do that with your ribs being injured."

"The bruised ribs have healed, but there are still two of the ribs that are still cracked, but are not as bad as before," said Frankenstrike.

"Which means the medicine's working," said Rachel. "Do you think maybe you can readjust her back and neck in a few days?"

"Only if her ribs are fully healed then," he said. "I don't want to cause more damage."

Bethany let the alien help her to her feet and Rachel helped her walk back to the med ward. "He didn't try to hurt me," she said to the older girl.

Rachel knew what she meant. "Frankenstrike may be frightening at times, but when someone needs help, he's there to provide it," she said. "The aliens all know what you've been through, Bethany, and they want to help you recover. You don't have to be scared of them. They won't hurt you."

The younger girl didn't say anymore, but she was constantly thinking about what Rachel said.

"Hey there, water lily," said a deep voice and she saw it was Bullfrag. He had been calling her that since she met him and she blushed a little. He was being nice to her and kept her company, as did the other aliens.

After a few more days, Frankenstrike said her ribs were healed and gently realigned the girl's neck and back and then gently ordered one more week of rest. It was during that week that Bethany got to talk to the aliens and to Rachel, Amy, and Sasha.

She asked about the aliens' backgrounds and they told her their stories and how they met Rachel and Sasha. Rachel, Amy, and Sasha then told her of how they fell in love with their alien guys. Amy had been afraid to tell Snare-Oh that she loved him, but he had already known it and he loved her too, something that made Amy happy and Bethany realized she and Amy had almost the same back history. She became more comfortable and apologized to Rachel and Sasha, who forgave her and told her she was welcome to stay, which she accepted.

* * *

One day, after the week of rest, Frankenstrike told her to take it very easy for a bit longer. She promised to do so and was now in the massive living room, reading. Something she hadn't done in a long time, and found that she loved it. It was during one of the afternoons she was reading when she heard someone come in and looked to see it was a small alien about the size of a three-year-old child who looked at her curiously with one green eye.

"Hello," said Bethany. "Who are you, little one?"

The kindness the other aliens had shown her made Bethany want to be kind, which she found wasn't that hard to do. The little alien looked at her and then hid behind the taller alien who had just walked in and Bethany immediately saw the resemblance, although the younger alien was black and white while the taller one was green and black. She smiled.

"Your little one?" she asked curiously.

The taller alien smiled. "Yes," he said. "You must be Bethany. Rachel told us about you."

She nodded. "Yes," she said. "What are your names?"

"I'm Feedback," he said and then picked up the smaller alien beside him. "This is my daughter, Sparkle."

Sparkle rested her head against her father's shoulder as she looked at Bethany, who smiled at the little one's shyness. "She's so cute," said the girl, smiling again.

"Thank you," said Feedback. "I'm sorry. She's very shy around new people, mostly humans, from when the Forever Knights captured her."

Bethany had a look of sympathy. "What would they want with her?" she asked curiously. "She's just a little girl."

"We Conductoids have electricity as our main power," the taller alien explained. "They were draining Sparkle's electricity when she was just an infant, when Rachel rescued her."

Bethany then jolted slightly as she realized he was still standing up and she was sitting. She gestured for him to sit down on the couch with her, which he did and that eased some of her embarrassment.

"Sparkle," said Feedback to his daughter. "Bethany is a friend and she's also your aunt."

That surprised both Sparkle and Bethany, who hadn't expected that. "She's my aunty, Daddy?" asked Sparkle in a cute voice that made the girl smile.

"Yes," he said, hugging his daughter and then gently handing her to Bethany, who looked surprised, but accepted Sparkle gently, smiling when the little one looked up at her.

"How old are you, Sparkle?" she asked.

The small Conductoid held up three fingers. "Three?" said Bethany. "My goodness, before we know it, you'll be as tall as your Daddy."

Sparkle looked up at her new aunt and smiled, hugging her as her shyness faded. "Love you, Aunty Bethany," she said, making both her father and aunt smile and the girl instantly found a place in her heart for her new niece.

"I always hoped I'd have a niece someday," she said honestly. "And now I do."

* * *

Over the next days that passed, Bethany met the other aliens, who all welcomed her warmly and promised to protect her as they did the other girls. She asked Rachel about it one day.

"The aliens are all family to us," Rachel explained. "We protect each other and keep everyone safe. They have save our lives more than once. I couldn't ask for a better family than them and my uncles."

"What about you and that guy you love? And Sasha and that other guy?"

Rachel smiled at Bethany's question. "Rook is the best guy that I could ask for. He treats me like a lady and makes me feel special," she said. "Whampire does the same for Sasha."

They heard a laugh and looked to see Amy being chased by Snare-Oh, who caught her with his long bandages and pulled her closer to him as he laughed deeply and she laughed too as he pulled her into a kiss that she accepted. Bethany was a bit stunned and Rachel smiled at that.

"Love doesn't see what we look like," she explained. "It sees who we are inside. The aliens and us are no different on the inside. We're all people, in a way. Love can make a scary-looking monster into a gentle, caring soul and can comfort a broken heart and can heal a heart that has been troubled for so long."

Bethany realized Rachel meant her with the last statement. "You think I could fall in love, for real?" she asked.

Rachel smiled and raised one eyebrow in a knowing expression. "It's hard not to notice your red face when a certain tall, dark alien comes in and calls you a special name."

Bethany now did blush as she knew who the other girl was talking about. "Do you think he really likes me?"

The older girl shrugged lightly. "Looks that way to me," she said. "But there's only one way for you to really know."

The younger girl turned as red as the sunset, but nodded.

She observed Rachel, Sasha, and Amy and saw how happy they were and how Rook, Whampire, and Snare-Oh were happy too with their respective girl. "I wish that could happen to me," she said to herself and thought of Bullfrag. She liked him for his kindness and that deep voice of his. She could listen to it all the time, but then she sadly looked down as she thought of her former parents and now she wondered why her real parents had given her to those cruel people.

She asked Rachel about going to look in the library records, but the owner of the Grant Mansion had another idea. "I know someone who can help," she said and sent out a telepathic thought, which was received by the Master of Time, who smiled and opened a portal beside the girls, coming through it.

"Clockwork, welcome," Rachel said as she hugged her friend and he returned the hug.

"Thank you, Rachel," he said and then turned to Bethany. "Come, Bethany," he said in a gentle voice. She looked at Rachel with uncertainty.

"Clockwork can help you find out what happened to your real parents," she said, but that didn't ease the other girl's uncertainty.

"Don't be afraid, child," Clockwork said soothingly. "You won't be harmed."

She finally nodded and went with the Time Master to his Clocktower and saw the sad truth of her parents having died because they had gotten mixed with the wrong crowd. She cried and felt Clockwork rub her back to comfort her as she turned to him and cried into his shoulder and he held her comfortingly until she stopped crying and he brought her back, where Rachel, Sasha, and Amy hugged her in sympathy and she accepted it before going to her bedroom that she had been given and looked out the window. She then felt a familiar hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, water lily," said Bullfrag.

She turned to him and let him hold her. "Bullfrag, do you really like me?" she asked him.

He tilted her face up to his. "Why do you ask?" he said, stroking her hair.

"Because…I…I…," she couldn't say it, but her red face told the frog alien enough and he smiled and leaned down, kissing her. Bethany was stunned and went stiff, but his hand rubbing her back soothed her and she wrapped her arms around him, to which he leaned her down gently in a dancing dip, deepening the kiss and leaving her almost breathless when he gently pulled away.

"I love you, Bethany," he said. "You have really become a beautiful lady and I want you to be mine forever."

She felt tears come to her eyes. "You really want me?" she asked in a surprised, but hopeful voice.

She felt him slip something on her finger and saw it was a beautiful ring that fit her left, ring finger perfectly. "I do," he said. "Do you want me, Bethany, my water lily?"

She smiled and jumped up, kissing him as he caught her and they kissed for a bit before she lightly pulled away to smile at him. "Yes," she said and then thought of something. "Rachel was right. Love doesn't see the outside, it sees the inside, which is the most important."

"It's the best thing in the world, besides you, my lovely water lily."

She smiled. "I agree, my strong man."

They kissed and Rachel smiled, seeing Bethany happy. Things can change and you can understand them, if you see it differently than the others and love did just that as it looked deeper that what was seen on the outside and that's what makes it perfect.

* * *

**Whew! This is my longest story to date. 14 pages on Word. Anyway, please leave a review, but no flames!**

**GoldGuardian2418**


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